Apparatus and Method for Providing Product Information

ABSTRACT

A sensor system comprises a tag. The tag comprises at least one sensor, an analog to digital converter, a passive radio-frequency chip, and a first antenna. The sensor is adapted to provide an output analogous to a change in an environment of the sensor. The sensor produces an analog output and includes output terminals. The analog to digital converter is adapted to convert an analog output of the sensor to a digital value. The analog to digital converter includes input and output terminals. The input terminals of the analog to digital converter are disposed in electrical communication with the output terminals of the sensor. The passive radio-frequency chip comprises a memory element, input terminals and output terminals. The input terminals are disposed in electrical communication with the output terminals of the analog to digital converter. The first antenna is disposed in electrical communication with the output terminals of the chip.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisionalapplication Ser. No. 61/580,379, filed Dec. 27, 2011 titled: SMART POWERSOURCE.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to systems and methods for determining informationabout a product. The invention relates particularly to the remoteinterrogation of product information and the subsequent use of theacquired information.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Consumable goods having a useful life defined in terms of theconsumption of the goods are well known. The useful life may be viewedas one or more events associated with the consumption of at least aportion of the useful quantity of the goods. Information associated withthe environment of use of the goods and/or the quantity of goods usedand remaining available may exist but may also be generally inaccessibleto the typical consumer of the goods. What is needed is a system andmethod for extracting product relevant information in a manner whichmakes the information readily accessible and usable by the consumer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect, a sensor system comprises a tag. The tag comprises atleast one sensor, an analog to digital converter, a radio-frequencychip, and a first antenna. The chip may be an active or passive chip.The sensor is adapted to provide an output analogous to a change in anenvironment of the sensor. The sensor produces an analog output andincludes output terminals. The analog to digital converter is adapted toconvert an analog output of the sensor to a digital value. The analog todigital converter includes input and output terminals. The inputterminals of the analog to digital converter are disposed in electricalcommunication with the output terminals of the sensor. The passiveradio-frequency chip comprises a memory element, input terminals andoutput terminals. The input terminals are disposed in electricalcommunication with the output terminals of the analog to digitalconverter. The first antenna is disposed in electrical communicationwith the output terminals of the chip.

In one aspect a method of determining product information includes thesteps of: providing a product comprising a tag, and an interrogatoradapted to detect radiation associated with the data of the tag;interrogating the state of the tag; interpreting the state of the tag;and providing an output associated with the interpreted state of thetag. The tag comprises a digital memory storing data associated with theproduct.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further features and benefits of the present invention will become morereadily apparent through consideration of the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of one embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 2 show s a schematic representation of one embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic representation of one embodiment of theinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Definitions:

The following text sets forth a broad description of numerous differentembodiments of the present invention. The description is to be construedas exemplary only and does not describe every possible embodiment sincedescribing every possible embodiment would be impractical, if notimpossible, and it will be understood that any feature, characteristic,component, composition, ingredient, product, step or methodologydescribed herein can be deleted, combined with or substituted for, inwhole or part, any other feature, characteristic, component,composition, ingredient, product, step or methodology described herein.Numerous alternative embodiments could be implemented, using eithercurrent technology or technology developed after the filing date of thispatent, which would still fall within the scope of the claims.

It should also be understood that, unless a term is expressly defined inthis patent using the sentence “As used herein, the term ‘______’ ishereby defined to mean . . . ” or a similar sentence, there is no intentto limit the meaning of that term, either expressly or by implication,beyond its plain or ordinary meaning, and such term should not beinterpreted to be limited in scope based on any statement made in anysection of this patent (other than the language of the claims). No termis intended to be essential to the present invention unless so stated.To the extent that any term recited in the claims at the end of thispatent is referred to in this patent in a manner consistent with asingle meaning, that is done for sake of clarity only so as to notconfuse the reader, and it is not intended that such claim term belimited, by implication or otherwise, to that single meaning. Finally,unless a claim element is defined by reciting the word “means” and afunction without the recital of any structure, it is not intended thatthe scope of any claim element be interpreted based on the applicationof 35 U.S.C. §112, sixth paragraph.

In one aspect, a sensor system comprising a tag. The tag may compriseone or more layers of conductive inks, and non-conductive materialsprinted upon a substrate. Exemplary substrate materials include: polymerfilms, paper, high permittivity dielectric materials, and FR-4 material.Multiple layer structures may further comprise partial layers ofnon-conducting material separating at least portions of the conductivelayers. Exemplary conductive layers include copper and silver inks. Thetag comprises at least one sensor, an analog to digital converter (ADC),a radio-frequency chip, and a first antenna disposed as a circuit upon acard, coin, or inlay. Exemplary chip/first antenna combinations includemodel numbers: RI-I03-112A-03 (13.56 MHz), and RI-INL-R9QM (134.2 kHz),or model TRF7970A, each available from Texas Instruments, Dallas, Tex.The antenna may be in the physical form of a coil or a dipole. In oneembodiment, the antenna may comprise a conductive package or productcomponent to which the remainder of the tag is connected electrically.The chip/first antenna combination, and ADC (analog to digitalconverter) may be integrated into a unit tag available from IDSMicrochip, Germany.

The sensor may be selected according to the nature of the environmentalfactor of interest. Typical sensor types include chemical sensors,electrical sensors, biological sensors, mechanical sensors, and physicalsensors. The sensor of the tag may also comprise multiple sensor of asingle type or a combination of sensors of differing types.

Exemplary chemical sensors include: model TGS 813 gas sensor forPropane, Butane, Methane, Alcohol, H2 made by Figaro Engineering Inc.,and available from Conrad Electronics, of Wernberg-Köblitz, Germany .Exemplary electrical sensors include: model AH1751-PG-B-A Hall effectsensor to measure magnetic field made by Zetex Semiconductors, andavailable from Allied Electronics, of Fort Worth, Tex.

Exemplary mechanical sensors include: model L3G3200D 3-axis gyro basedon MEMS made by ST Microelectronics, and model N11MA512023 strain gaugesensor made by Allied Electronic, Forth Worth, Tex.

Exemplary physical sensors include: model-VCNL4020 light sensor made byVishay, and model LPS331AP pressure sensor based on MEMS made by STMicroelectronics.

Exemplary biological sensors can be tailored to detect variousbiological molecules such as diseases, ions, bio markers, antibodies,DNA, various proteins, metabolic markers etc. The method of detectionfundamentally can be potentiometric or amperometric in nature. Analyzedmaterial samples may be collected from an organism or from theenvironment and include: blood, epithelial cells, mucous, saliva, feces,hair, urine, air, water and other environmental materials. The electrodeconfiguration can be two (working and counter) or three (working,counter and reference) where the electrodes can be made of a number ofsubstrates such as gold, silver, platinum, carbon, etc. These electrodesmay be purchased from Conductive Technologies, Inc., of York, Pa., ormade (Sensors and Actuators B, 114, (2006) 357-363).

A potentiometric bio sensor that detects antibodies may take advantageof an ELISA sandwich assay. The previously mentioned electrodes arecoated with a conductive polymer such as poly(pryyole) to prepare asubstrate suitable for bio attachment while maintaining conductivity tothe electrode substrate. The materials for the assay may be purchasedfrom Sigma-Aldrich, of St. Louis, Mo.: capture antibody—anti-mouse IgG(Fc specific) F(ab′)₂ fragment antibody produced in goat (M0284),antibody—mouse serum (M5905), analyte competitor—anti-mouse IgG (γ-chainspecific) peroxidase antibody produced in goat (A3673) and albumin frombovine serum is used during the process to prevent non-specific binding(A7906).

The ELISA sandwich structure described from the bottom up on the workingelectrode, is as follows: capture antibody adsorption to thepoly(pyrrole) substrate, analyte, analyte competitor with HRP conjugate,and working solution enzyme to catalyze the HRP to generate hydrogenperoxide. This reaction at the working electrode generates a potentialwith a resolution of micro volts.

To adapt the signal of the sensor to the ADC input range an integratedpre amplifier may be used. The needed power supply for the electrodesmay be provided by the harvested energy of the RFID circuit because theneeded current is in the micro ampere range. The harvested power may bestored with an element such as a capacitor for use by the sensor at alater time.

The sensor system may further comprise an interrogator. The interrogatorcomprising a power source and a second antenna adapted to generateelectromagnetic radiation comprising a resonant frequency of the firstantenna, and a receiver adapted to detect electromagnetic radiation andde-modulate the detected radiation extracting embedded data from thedetected radiation. The Bluetooth™ RFID Reader, model number 223012,available GAO RFID, of Toronto Canada, exemplifies one form ofinterrogator. The model 223012 interrogator has the capacity tointerrogate the radio frequency tag and to determine the state of thememory of the tag and thus extract information associated with theoutput of the sensor or sensors relating to the environment of the tag.The 223012 further comprises a secondary network communications linkutilizing the Bluetooth™ communications protocol for transmitting theinformation extracted from the tag to a secondary device or secondaryinterrogator, such as a Bluetooth™ enabled computer or smart phone. Thesecondary interrogator may further analyze the information relating tothe state of the tag and/or the tags environment and provide an outputassociated with a particular tag and/or tag environment state. Theinterrogator may further comprise a display element such as an LCD orLED screen for displaying an output associated with the analyzed taginformation. The interrogator may further comprise one or more sensorsfor ascertaining information associated with the environment of theinterrogator. The sensors may include: temperature, humidity,acceleration sensors. The interrogator may further comprise one or morecameras enabling the capture of images associated with a product, thetag or the environment. The interrogator may comprise a GlobalPositioning capability enabling the interrogator to ascertain and shareinformation relating to the geographic location of the interrogator.

In one aspect, the smart phone may serve as the only interrogator. Inthis aspect the smart phone may interrogate the tag thereby ascertainingthe information from the memory of the tag. The interrogator may analyzeor otherwise interpret the information and may create an output. Theoutput may be provided to a system user via an audio output, visualoutput, haptic output or combinations thereof. The interrogator mayutilize inputs from sensors or systems of the smart phone, includinginformation and analysis available from a networked resource such ascloud computing resources, in addition to the tag information increating the output. Exemplary smart phones suitably configured toperform as a system interrogator include: the Acer™ E320 Liquid Express,the Blackberry™ Bold™ 970, available from Research In Motion; the CasioIT-800; the Google Nexus 7™, available from Google, Inc. Mountain ViewCa.; the HTC Desire C™, available from HTC of; the LG Optimus Elite; theMotorola Droid™ Razr™, available from Motorola; the Nokia 700; thePanasonic BizPad™; and the Samsung Galaxy S Advance™.

In one aspect, the sensor system may include a product. The term“product(s)” is used in the broadest sense and refers to any product,product group, services, communications, entertainment, environments,organizations, systems, tools, and the like. For example, an example ofa product group is personal and household products, such as used by aperson, family or household. Examples of a representative, andnon-limiting list of product categories within the personal andhousehold product group includes antiperspirants, baby care, colognes,commercial products (including wholesale, industrial, and commercialmarket analogs to consumer-oriented consumer products), cosmetics,deodorants, dish care, feminine protection, hair care, hair color,health care, household cleaners, laundry, oral care, paper products,personal cleansing, disposable absorbent articles, pet health andnutrition, prescription drugs, prestige fragrances, skin care, foods,snacks and beverages, special fabric care, shaving and other hair growthmanagement products, small appliances, devices and batteries, servicessuch as haircutting, beauty treatment, spa treatment, medical, dental,vision services, entertainment venues such as theaters, stadiums, aswell as entertainment services such as film or movie shows, plays andsporting events A variety of product forms may fall within each of theseproduct categories.

Exemplary product forms and brands are described on The Procter & GambleCompany's website www.pg.com, and the linked sites found thereon. It isto be understood that consumer products that are part of productcategories other than those listed above are also contemplated by thepresent invention, and that alternative product forms and brands otherthan those disclosed on the above-identified website are alsoencompassed by the present invention.

Exemplary products within the laundry category include detergents(including powder, liquid, tablet, and other forms), bleach,conditioners, softeners, anti-static products, and refreshers (includingliquid refreshers and dryer sheets). Exemplary products within the oralcare category include dentifrice, floss, toothbrushes (including manualand powered forms), mouth rinses, gum care products, tooth whiteningproducts, and other tooth care products. Exemplary feminine protectionproducts include pads, tampons, interlabial products, and pantiliners.Exemplary baby care products include diapers, wipes, baby bibs, babychange and bed mats, and foaming bathroom hand soap.

Exemplary health care products include laxatives, fiber supplements,oral and topical analgesics, gastro-intestinal treatment products,respiratory and cough/cold products, heat delivery products, and waterpurification products. Exemplary paper products include toilet tissues,paper towels, and facial tissues. Exemplary hair care products includeshampoos, conditioners (including rinse-off and leave-in forms), andstyling aids. Exemplary household care products include sweeperproducts, floor cleaning products, wood floor cleaners, antibacterialfloor cleaners, fabric and air refreshers, and vehicle washing products.Skin care products include, but are not limited to, body washes, facialcleansers, hand lotions, moisturizers, conditioners, astringents,exfoliation products, micro-dermabrasion and peel products, skinrejuvenation products, anti-aging products, masks, UV protectionproducts, and skin care puffs, wipes, discs, clothes, sheets, implementsand devices (with or without skin care compositions).

Other product groups include but are not limited to: sports equipment,entertainment (books, movies, music, etc), vision, and in-home-consumedmedical and first aid, among others.

In one embodiment, the product may comprise a test unit for theevaluation of other products such as portable power sources. In thisembodiment, the product may comprise all the described elementsincluding the chip, antenna, and shielding. In using this embodiment,the user will place the power source of interest in the product andengage the tag of the unit using the interrogator. The interrogator willpower the tag, read and analyze the memory value, and generate anoutput. The analysis will evaluate the read value in terms of the opencircuit voltage of the power source to which it is analogous. The outputmay be in the form of a percentage of power remaining, a color codedoutput associated with the power remaining, a simple textual output,good or bad, etc., or combinations of these. The output may be furthertransmitted using a network communications link and/or displayed usingthe display element of the interrogator.

The tag may be attached to the packaging of the product such as theprimary packaging of a liquid product, or a granular product. The tagmay be immersed in or float upon the surface of a packaged liquid orgranular product. The tag may be incorporated within the product such aswithin a disposable absorbent article such as within a diaper for thepurpose of detecting an insult to the absorbent core of the diaper. Thetag may be disposed upon the surface of the product itself such as uponthe surface of a battery for the purpose of sensing information relatingto the useful power remaining in the battery.

It is believed that conforming the antenna of the tag to the shape ofthe outer surface of the product yields a system where communicationbetween the interrogator and the tag may be omni-directional orachievable at a variety of angles between the interrogator and the tag.

One of the problems associated with creating a communication device forvarious products is realized when the communication device is utilizedon electromagnetically conductive bodies. Free space radio propagationprinciples do not apply near highly conductive bodies. Additionally,antenna performance is severely degraded when antennas are placed nearmetals. As such, simply placing an RFID tag on a battery or on an objectwith a conductive body may not accomplish the desired effect, e.g.energy harvesting and/or data transfer. Notably, this problem is notlimited to rechargeable/disposable batteries. For example, a can ofshaving gel, foam, etc., or a package comprising a metalized film, couldexperience the same issues because of the conductivity of the container.In general, an RFID tag next to metallic body decreases signal couplingbetween the reader and the tag by 10×.

One way to prevent the effects arising from metal proximity to theantenna is to prevent the electromagnetic field from entering the metal.For example, separating the antenna and the metal surface by placing amaterial with suitable electromagnetic properties and dimensions betweenthem may divert the electromagnetic field around the metallic/conductivebody of the product. The properties of the diverter material depend onthe exact metal used and the RFID frequency. The magnetic divertereffectively isolates the tag from the can. An effective separation mayalso be achieved with an air filled gap between the materials.

In one aspect, a method of determining product information comprisessteps of: providing a product comprising a tag as described above. Thetag comprising, at least one sensor adapted to provide an outputanalogous to a change in an environment of the sensor. The sensor havingat least one output terminal. The tag also comprising an analog todigital converter adapted to convert the analog output of the sensor toa digital value, the analog to digital converter having input and outputterminals, the input terminal(s) of the analog to digital converterbeing disposed in electrical communication with the output terminal(s)of the sensor. The tag also includes a radio-frequency chip comprising amemory element, input terminals and output terminals, the inputterminals disposed in electrical communication with the output terminalsof the analog to digital converter, and a first antenna disposed inelectrical communication with the output terminals of the chip.

The method also includes providing an interrogator adapted to detectradiation associated with the data of the tag. The interrogator may bean RF or NFC protocol reader coupled with a Bluetooth™ capability asdescribed above, or a smart phone or other computing device comprisingan RF or NFC capable reader.

The interrogator may be used to determine the current state of the tagutilizing an RF communications protocol such as the NFC protocol. Theinterrogator may interpret the data received from the tag using asoftware application written for that purpose. In one embodiment, thetag and sensor may be configured to detect an open circuit voltage of abattery cell. The detected open circuit voltage may alter the value ofat least one bit of the memory of the tag. The interrogator may thenread the value of the memory and correlate that value with an opencircuit voltage and a useful battery life remaining The useful batterylife remaining may be displayed to a user of the system via a displayelement of the interrogator. The output displayed may be in terms of apercentage of life remaining or in more analog terms of red, yellow andgreen colors signifying little to no useful life, some useful life, or asignificant amount of useful life depending upon the algorithm used toset the thresholds for converting the detected open circuit voltage toan analog of battery useful life. In one embodiment, the application mayprovide steps for the user of the application to input the nature of theload case of the battery. Exemplary load cases include powering: a flashcamera, a toy, a flashlight, a remote control unit, a clock, or a radioor other entertainment system.

As an example, the tag may be incorporated as a sensor system for a 1.5volt alkaline power source. In this example the sensor may be configuredto read the open circuit voltage (OCV) in the range between 0.8 voltsand 1.65 volts. The ADC may be designed to provide different digitaloutput values in association with differing OCV values. As an example a5 bit ADC may be used to partition the sensed voltage range of 0.85volts across the 32 possible digital output values of the ADC. Theanalysis of the ADC output may be programmed to provide output changesat thresholds associated with OCV values considered of interest. AS anexample, the output of the analysis may be programmed to switch ataround a value associated with 1.25 volts, to switch a second time ataround 1.35 volts. This example divides the OCV range into three zones,below around 1.25 volts, between 1.25 and 1.35 volts, and above 1.35volts. These outputs may be further associated with a percentageequivalent or a color coding of red yellow and green respectively.

In one aspect, the interrogator may incorporate a secondary networkcommunication module affording the device an ability to send and receivedata over a cellular phone or other networks including a local area orwifi networks. In such an aspect, the interrogator may transmit datareceived from the tag and/or an analysis of the data from the tag. Thesoftware application of the interrogator may analyze the data from thetag to determine if replenishment of the product associated with the tagin needed, or to project when such replenishment will be needed in viewof usage history of the product established via a series ofinterrogations of the tag. In this aspect the application may be used toconsummate a purchase of addition product via the network. Theapplication may be further utilized to offer the user related productsfor purchase, or to make offers of other products not directly relatedto the product.

EXAMPLES

A tag comprising a capacitive sensor strip coupled with an ADC may bearrayed within a package such as a mascara package, such that the sensoroutput will be analogous to the product quantity remaining within thepackage. An axis of the sensor may be aligned with the geometry of thepackage such that the portion of the sensor in contact with the productwill change as the amount of product in the container changes. Uponinterrogation, the tag sensor will provide an output to the ADCanalogous to the product quantity remaining. The ADC will convert theoutput to a digital value and store that value in memory. Theinterrogator will read the stored value. The application software maythen analyze the read value and interpret it in terms of the amount ofproduct remaining. The software may then provide an output to the userindicating the amount of product remaining as a quantity or as apercentage of the original amount within the package.

The software may be written to provide a suggestion to the user toreplenish the product at a particular quantity or percentage threshold.The software may utilize the network communications capacity of theinterrogator to enable the user to connect to a network retail source topurchase replenishment product offered by a network retailer. Thesoftware may search the network to identify a set of retailers and mayalso gather information such as the price and shipping options of theproduct associated with each retailer. The software may utilize alocation provider by the user or derived via the GPS or wifi locationcapabilities of the interrogator to identify retailers having locationnear the present location of the user where the product may be directlypurchased.

A tag comprising an electrical sensor, such as a sensor for resistance,capacitance, inductance, or combinations thereof, may be provided incontact with a product as part of a product/package combination. Thesystem may be configured to sense changes in the product, such aschanges related to shelf stability or the efficacy of the product, andto provide an output associated with such a change in the product.

A tag comprising a temperature sensor may be incorporated within thediaper such that upon interrogation the sensor output to the ADC will beanalogous to the temperature of the wearer of the diaper which will bestored digitally in the memory of the tag. The application software mayread the stored value and interpret it in terms of body temperature. Theassociated value may be stored by the application software together withother available data such as date, time, location, images of the wearer,and combinations thereof. A collection of data records may beaccumulated over time and used as an indicator of the wearer's healthand wellness.

A tag comprising a chemical or biosensor coupled to an ADC may beincorporated within a patient garment for the purpose of detectingenvironmental factors associated with the occurrence of pressure ulcers.Other tags having chemical or biological sensors may be used forpurposes such as detecting metabolic markers in saliva, detectingalcohol in breath or saliva, detecting malodorous compounds in airsamples.

As shown in FIG. 1, a system 1000, comprises an absorbent article 300,and an interrogator 200. The absorbent article 300 comprises a tag 100.The tag 100 comprises a sensor 110, an analog to digital converter, 120,a chip 130, and an antenna 140. The interrogator 200 comprises a sensor210, a power source 220, an antenna 230, an analysis element 240, adisplay element 250, and a network link 260. As shown in FIG. 2, aportable power source 400, comprises a tag 100 and shielding 150. Asshown in FIG. 3, a package 500, comprises a tag 100.

The dimensions and values disclosed herein are not to be understood asbeing strictly limited to the exact numerical values recited. Instead,unless otherwise specified, each such dimension is intended to mean boththe recited value and a functionally equivalent range surrounding thatvalue. For example, a dimension disclosed as “40 mm” is intended to mean“about 40 mm.”

Every document cited herein, including any cross referenced or relatedpatent or application, is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety unless expressly excluded or otherwise limited. The citation ofany document is not an admission that it is prior art with respect toany invention disclosed or claimed herein or that it alone, or in anycombination with any other reference or references, teaches, suggests ordiscloses any such invention. Further, to the extent that any meaning ordefinition of a term in this document conflicts with any meaning ordefinition of the same term in a document incorporated by reference, themeaning or definition assigned to that term in this document shallgovern.

While particular embodiments of the present invention have beenillustrated and described, it would be obvious to those skilled in theart that various other changes and modifications can be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is thereforeintended to cover in the appended claims all such changes andmodifications that are within the scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A sensor system comprising a tag, the tagcomprising: a. at least one sensor adapted to provide an outputanalogous to a change in an environment of the sensor, the sensor havingoutput terminals; b. an analog to digital converter adapted to convertthe analog output of the sensor to a digital value, the analog todigital converter having input and output terminals, the input terminalsof the analog to digital converter being disposed in electricalcommunication with the output terminals of the sensor; c. aradio-frequency chip comprising a memory element, input terminals andoutput terminals, the input terminals disposed in electricalcommunication with the output terminals of the analog to digitalconverter; d. a first antenna disposed in electrical communication withthe output terminals of the chip.
 2. The sensor system according toclaim 1 further comprising: an interrogator comprising a power sourceand a second antenna adapted to generate electromagnetic radiationcomprising a resonant frequency of the first antenna, and a receiveradapted to detect electromagnetic radiation and de-modulate the detectedradiation extracting embedded data from the detected radiation.
 3. Thesensor system according to claim 2 wherein the interrogator furthercomprises: an analysis element adapted to interpret the extractedembedded data, and a display element adapted to display the results ofthe interpretation.
 4. The sensor system according to claim 2 whereinthe interrogator further comprises a sensor.
 5. The sensor systemaccording to claim 2 wherein the interrogator further comprises anetwork communications link.
 6. The sensor system according to claim 1wherein the sensor is selected from the group consisting of: chemicalsensors, electrical sensors, biological sensors, mechanical sensors,physical sensors and combinations thereof.
 7. The sensor systemaccording to claim 1 wherein the first antenna comprises anomni-directional antenna.
 8. The sensor system according to claim 1further comprising a product wherein the tag comprises part of theproduct.
 9. The sensor system according to claim 1 wherein the productcomprises a disposable absorbent article.
 10. The sensor systemaccording to claim 1 wherein the product comprises a portable powersource.
 11. The sensor system according to claim 1 wherein the productcomprises a package containing a consumable good.
 12. The sensor systemaccording to claim 8 further comprising electrical shielding disposedbetween the antenna and product.
 13. The sensor system according toclaim 12 wherein the shielding comprises part of the tag.
 14. The sensorsystem according to claim 1 wherein the antenna comprises a coil. 15.The sensor system according to claim 1 wherein the antenna comprises adipole.
 16. A method of determining product information, the methodcomprising steps of: a. providing a product comprising a tag, the tagcomprising: at least one sensor adapted to provide an output analogousto a change in an environment of the sensor, the sensor having outputterminals; an analog to digital converter adapted to convert the analogoutput of the sensor to a digital value, the analog to digital converterhaving input and output terminals, the input terminals of the analog todigital converter being disposed in electrical communication with theoutput terminals of the sensor; a radio-frequency chip comprising amemory element, input terminals and output terminals, the inputterminals disposed in electrical communication with the output terminalsof the analog to digital converter; a first antenna disposed inelectrical communication with the output terminals of the chip; b.providing an interrogator adapted to detect radiation associated withthe data of the tag; c. interrogating the state of the tag; d.interpreting the state of the tag; e. providing an output associatedwith the interpreted state of the tag.
 17. The method according to claim16 wherein the step of providing an interrogator further comprisesproviding an interrogator comprising a network communications link, themethod further comprising a step of sharing the interpreted state of thetag over a network.
 18. The method according to claim 17 furthercomprising the step of sharing data from the interrogator sensor overthe network.
 19. The method according to claim 17 further comprising thestep of purchasing a unit of the product using the network.
 20. Themethod according to claim 16 wherein the step of providing an outputassociated with the interpreted state of the tag comprises displaying aresult associated with the interpreted state of the tag.